On This Day — 2 September

2024

Four people are killed in a mass shooting targeting homeless people on a Chicago Transit Authority train in Forest Park, Illinois, United States.

Chicago "L"

2024

A suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, kills 6 people and injures 13.

2024 Qala Bakhtiar bombing

2024

At least 129 inmates are killed and 59 more injured in an attempted prison break at Makala Prison in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

2024 Makala jailbreak attempt

2023

India's first solar observation mission: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launches Aditya-L1 from Satish Dhawan space centre.

Aditya-L1

2022

Eighteen people are killed and 23 others are injured by a suicide bombing at a Sunni mosque in Herat, Afghanistan.

2022 Herat mosque bombing

2019

Hurricane Dorian, a category 5 hurricane, devastates the Bahamas, killing at least five.

Hurricane Dorian

2019

The dive boat MV Conception catches fire and sinks near Santa Cruz Island, killing 34.

Sinking of MV Conception

2018

National Museum of Brazil fire, A massive fire destroys most of the Paço de São Cristóvão, which houses the National Museum of Brazil, in Rio de Janeiro. The museum holds important archaeοlogical and anthropological objects, including the remains of the Luzia Woman, Marajoara vases and Egyptian mummies.

National Museum of Brazil fire

2013

The Eastern span replacement of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge opens at 10:15 pm at a cost of $6.4 billion, after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the old span.

Eastern span replacement of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge

2010

Israel-Palestinian conflict: the 2010 Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are launched by the United States.

Israeli–Palestinian conflict

2009

The Andhra Pradesh, India helicopter crash occurred near Rudrakonda Hill, 40 nautical miles (74 km) from Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, India. Fatalities included Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

2009 Andhra Pradesh helicopter crash

2008

Google launches its Google Chrome web browser.

Google

1998

Swissair Flight 111 crashes near Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia; all 229 people on board are killed.

Swissair Flight 111

1998

The UN's International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda finds Jean-Paul Akayesu, the former mayor of a small town in Rwanda, guilty of nine counts of genocide.

United Nations

1992

The 7.7 Mw  Nicaragua earthquake affected the west coast of Nicaragua. With a Ms–Mw disparity of half a unit, this tsunami earthquake triggered a tsunami that caused most of the damage and casualties, with at least 116 killed. Typical runup heights were 3–8 meters (9.8–26.2 ft).

1992 Nicaragua earthquake

1990

Transnistria is unilaterally proclaimed a Soviet republic; the Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev declares the decision null and void.

Transnistria

1987

In Moscow, the trial begins for 19-year-old pilot Mathias Rust, who flew his Cessna airplane into Red Square in May.

Mathias Rust

1985

Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil politicians and former MPs M. Alalasundaram and V. Dharmalingam are shot dead.

Sri Lankan civil war

1984

Seven people are shot and killed and 12 wounded in the Milperra massacre, a shootout between the rival motorcycle gangs Bandidos and Comancheros in Sydney, Australia.

Milperra massacre

1970

NASA announces the cancellation of two Apollo missions to the Moon, Apollo 15 (the designation is re-used by a later mission), and Apollo 19.

NASA

1970

Aeroflot Flight 3630, a Tupolev Tu-124 en route from southern Russia to Lithuania, crashes after the pilots lost control of the aircraft at cruise altitude between Rostov-on-Don Airport and Vilnius Airport, on the second leg of the flight; all 37 passengers and crew are killed.

Aeroflot Flight 3630

1968

Operation OAU begins during the Nigerian Civil War.

Operation OAU

1963

CBS Evening News becomes U.S. network television's first half-hour weeknight news broadcast, when the show is lengthened from 15 to 30 minutes.

CBS Evening News

1960

The first election of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile. The Tibetan community observes this date as Democracy Day.

Parliament of the Central Tibetan Administration

1958

A USAF RC-130 is shot down by fighters over Armenia when it strays into Soviet airspace while conducting a sigint mission. All crew members are killed.

Lockheed RC-130 Hercules

1957

President Ngô Đình Diệm of South Vietnam becomes the first foreign head of state to make a state visit to Australia.

Ngo Dinh Diem

1946

The Interim Government of India is formed, headed by Jawaharlal Nehru as vice president with the powers of a Prime Minister.

Interim Government of India

1945

World War II: The Japanese Instrument of Surrender is signed by Japan and the major warring powers aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, thus marking the official end to the war.

Japanese Instrument of Surrender

1945

Communist leader Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam after the end of the Nguyễn dynasty.

Ho Chi Minh

1944

The last execution of a Finn in Finland takes place when soldier Olavi Laiho is executed by shooting in Oulu.

Finland

1939

World War II: Following the start of the invasion of Poland the previous day, the Free City of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) is annexed by Nazi Germany.

World War II

1935

The Labor Day Hurricane, the most intense hurricane to strike the United States, makes landfall at Long Key, Florida, killing at least 400.

1935 Labor Day hurricane

1923

Kantō Massacre: Amid rumors that Koreans had been conducting acts of sabotage in the aftermath of the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, lynch mobs of Japanese begin massacring thousands of civilians over the course of several weeks, mainly ethnic minorities such as Koreans and Chinese.

Kantō Massacre

1912

Arthur Rose Eldred is awarded the first Eagle Scout award of the Boy Scouts of America.

Arthur Rose Eldred

1901

Vice President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt utters the famous phrase, "Speak softly and carry a big stick" at the Minnesota State Fair.

Theodore Roosevelt

1898

Battle of Omdurman: British and Egyptian troops defeat Sudanese tribesmen and establish British dominance in Sudan.

Battle of Omdurman

1885

Rock Springs massacre: In Rock Springs, Wyoming, 150 white miners, who are struggling to unionize so they could strike for better wages and work conditions, attack their Chinese fellow workers, killing 28, wounding 15 and forcing several hundred more out of town.

Rock Springs massacre

1870

Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Sedan: Prussian forces take Napoleon III of France and 100,000 of his soldiers prisoner.

Franco-Prussian War

1867

Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji of Japan, marries Masako Ichijō, thereafter known as Empress Shōken.

Emperor Meiji

1864

American Civil War: Union forces enter Atlanta as the city surrenders, ending the Atlanta campaign as a victory for General William T. Sherman.

Union (American Civil War)

1862

American Civil War: United States President Abraham Lincoln reluctantly restores Union General George B. McClellan to full command after General John Pope's disastrous defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run.

American Civil War

1859

The Carrington Event is the strongest geomagnetic storm on record.

Carrington Event

1856

The Tianjing incident takes place in Nanjing, China.

Tianjing Incident

1807

Napoleonic Wars: The British Royal Navy bombards Copenhagen with fire bombs and phosphorus rockets to prevent Denmark from surrendering its fleet to Napoleon.

Battle of Copenhagen (1807)

1806

A massive landslide destroys the town of Goldau, Switzerland, killing 457.

Goldau

1792

During what became known as the September Massacres of the French Revolution, rampaging mobs slaughter three Roman Catholic bishops, more than two hundred priests, and prisoners believed to be royalist sympathizers.

September Massacres

1789

The United States Department of the Treasury is founded.

United States Department of the Treasury

1752

Great Britain, along with its overseas possessions, adopts the Gregorian calendar.

Kingdom of Great Britain

1666

The Great Fire of London breaks out and burns for three days, destroying 10,000 buildings, including Old St Paul's Cathedral.

Great Fire of London

1649

The Italian city of Castro is completely destroyed by the forces of Pope Innocent X, ending the Wars of Castro.

Castro, Lazio

1601

4th Spanish Armada makes landfall in Ireland at Kinsale.

Fourth Spanish Armada

1561

Entry of Mary, Queen of Scots into Edinburgh, a spectacular civic celebration for the Queen of Scotland, marred by religious controversy.

Entry of Mary, Queen of Scots, into Edinburgh

1192

The Treaty of Jaffa is signed between Richard I of England and Saladin, leading to the end of the Third Crusade.

Treaty of Jaffa (1192)

-31

Final War of the Roman Republic: Battle of Actium: Off the western coast of Greece, forces of Octavian defeat troops under Mark Antony and Cleopatra.

War of Actium

-44

Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion.

Pharaoh

-44

Cicero launches the first of his Philippicae (oratorical attacks) on Mark Antony. He will make 14 of them over the following months.

Cicero